Useful information – w/c 18/08/25
August 18, 2025
Events, training, charity news, surveys, research, feedback, reports, services and much more – in one handy place!
This page will be updated with new information as we receive it during the week. Please check back regularly. (Last update: 20/08/25 – items added on this date are marked as [NEW])
You’ll also find the latest Health and Wellbeing news, events and opportunities in the current post on our News page here.
You can view previous Useful Information posts here to catch up on our archive of information.
For useful resources, information, news and events, updates on our climate commitment, blog posts from colleagues about what they’re doing (in a work capacity and privately) to minimise environmental impact and more take a look at Cumbria CVS Green
If you’ve seen something you think we should be sharing, let us know! Email us: info@cumbriacvs.org.uk
Looking for funding information? Check out the latest edition of Focus on Funding here
Training and Events
Charity Digital Academy: Writing a Successful Funding Application
19 August 2025, online. This 3 hour course provides a beginner’s guide to how to write a successful funding application, using the National Lottery Community Fund’s Awards For All online application form as an example.
In these 3 hours you’ll get:
- The chance to go through a successful funding application and understand how you can emulate it
- Advice on key elements such as writing project outcomes, evidencing co-production and creating an accurate budget
- Time to start sketching out your own application, ask questions and get expert advice
- The chance to step back and decide what you need to do next to lay the foundations for a strong application for your project
How to create effective video content using your phone for charities
Thursday 21st August, Online. Join The Saltways team for this free, hour-long workshop for charities to learn how to create effective & high quality content on your phone.
Learn how to plan your films to get the best results possible, technical tips on how to improve your footage and sound and have an introduction into editing and how to build a campaign around your film.
Flexible working requests: a case study and the law
Thursday 21st August, Online. Join Acas for this free webinar where we will delve into the latest legislative updates affecting flexible working requests.
This 30-minute session is designed to provide clear definitions of flexible working, set out the benefits of flexible working and explore a case study outlining the implications for the employer if they choose to accept or refuse the request.
Get Grants FREE Virtual Fundraisers Networking Event
21st August, online. There has never been a greater need for fundraisers to get together and share knowledge and experience.
Join Get Grant for expert insights, advice, top tips, from the Get Grants team, and peer support from our friendly Get Grants Fundraising Community!
Finding your organisational voice
Tuesday 26th August, Online. A strong brand voice can create better awareness, foster brand trust and improve engagement.
Join HdK for this free webinar and discover how to identify a ‘brand voice’ for your arts, cultural or heritage organisation – and apply it to your digital marketing.
Webinar: Champion your cause: Turning digital recognition into real-world impact
28th August, online. Join Public Interest Registry and Charity Digital for a dynamic conversation featuring non-profit leaders and digital changemakers including 2025 .ORG Impact Awards finalists as we explore how to use storytelling, credibility, and collaboration to champion your cause and grow your mission.
This session will be packed with practical insights and inspiring stories from organisations who have turned digital recognition into deeper partnerships, increased funding, and greater reach.
[NEW] Unifying Data & AI with Microsoft Fabric for Nonprofits
Tuesday 2nd September, online. Join mhance for a dynamic webinar designed specifically for nonprofits looking to break down data silos, overcome inefficiencies, and unlock the potential of AI.
In this session, experts James Glover and Adrian Cole will guide you through the most pressing data challenges nonprofits face, and how Microsoft Fabric, a unified data and AI platform, can help solve them.
Supercharge your use of social media
9th September, online. This course aims, in just three hours, to supercharge your use of social media. Explore how you can pick the right platforms for your charity and how to know whether you should invest, or divest, in other platforms.
We’ll show you how to increase social media engagement, how to extend your reach, and how to ensure you target the most rewarding demographics.
[NEW] Making your community building more energy efficient
Tuesday 9th September, online. This session will cover the basics of what is meant by energy efficiency, and what are the options for community organisations, key considerations and where to find support and funding.
We will be joined by guest speakers from Raasay Carbon Neutral Island and Caxton House Community Centre to tell us about their experiences of retrofitting community buildings.
Understanding Governance Stage 1: The Trustee Role
10th and 11th September, online. Are you a charity trustee looking to deepen your knowledge of governance and trusteeship?
Led by former vice chair of the Association of Chairs, John Williams, this course will provide comprehensive updates on evolving elements of the trustee role. It is the ideal course for new trustees as well as those looking to refresh their knowledge of governance fundamentals.
Best Practice Reporting
16th September 2025, online. In the current economic climate where fundraising from funders and the public alike is a tough ask, it is important that you sell your charity in the best possible light. We all know that funders will look at your statutory accounts and therefore they need to reflect well on your organisation to provide key messages in a way that encourages them to fund you.
This half day online course will give the tips on best practice reporting in the sector and show you how to think about your Trustees report differently. It is much more than a compliance document and an opportunity to ‘tell your story’ in an engaging way.
Safeguarding for Trustees and Community Buildings
Tues 16th September, online. This session will look at the legislation, and what trustees need to know and do.
It will also look at how best to apply it in a community building setting where you may be hiring space but have little direct interaction with the vulnerable people attending the activities.
Introduction to Improving Quality
Thurs 18th Sept 2025, online.
Improving Quality is a clear, simple system, and focuses on the key issues that make a difference for charities. IQ can either be used for self-assessment or accreditation, and has international recognition: a number of organisations in the UK and the Republic of Ireland are already accredited to it. Find out more about it at our free online workshop.
This event is free but you will need to book.
Practical uses of AI for your charity
23rd September, online. This course aims, in just three hours, to boost your everyday use of AI.
The course takes a hands-on, practical approach, showing charities how to use AI to improve meetings, boost email marketing, smash data analytics, enhance workflow efficiency, and so much more.
How to handle volunteer concerns and complaints
Tuesday 23 September, online. Managing concerns and complaints from volunteers is essential for maintaining trust, safeguarding wellbeing and strengthening your volunteer involvement. In this session, NCVO will look at how to create a safe environment where volunteers feel confident to raise concerns, and how to respond appropriately when they do.
You will learn practical advice on setting up proportionate procedures and ensuring your processes reflect your organisation’s values. You’ll also hear how other organisations have successfully handled volunteer complaints to improve practice and culture.
This session is suited to volunteer managers and anyone responsible for volunteer engagement and safeguarding.
[NEW] Contracts Training for Charities
23rd September, online. For a charity entering into a contract with any other party, there are a number of key factors to consider.
In this half-day session Ed Rimmell, partner at VWV, will share his expertise on managing charity contracts effectively to ensure risks are mitigated, all parties fully understand what has been agreed and what to do if a dispute arises. Ed will also guide you through some common and important contract clauses which are often poorly understood.
Getting set up with Microsoft 365
24th September, online. The course uncovers everything you need to know about Microsoft 365.
The first half of the first session looks at the functionality 365 includes, helps charities to make sense of registration process and domain authentication, explores eligibility, and so much more.
Preventing charity fraud
25th September, online. Combining 25 years’ expertise as a charity lawyer and governance trainer with frontline experience from various voluntary leadership sector roles, Claris D’cruz will lead this half-day training course to help your charity prevent and deal with fraud or suspected fraud.
This training is relevant to charity trustees, CEOs, finance directors, finance managers, charity advisors and anyone with responsibility for dealing with fraud in their charity.
Throughout the morning we will explore the types of fraud and financial crime to be aware of, the controls and procedures to prevent fraud and how to handle a fraudulent incident.
Introduction to Improving Quality
Thurs 25th September, online. Improving Quality is a clear, simple system, and focuses on the key issues that make a difference for charities.
IQ can either be used for self-assessment or accreditation, and has international recognition: a number of organisations in the UK and the Republic of Ireland are already accredited to it.
Find out more about it at our free online workshop. This event is free but you will need to book.
[NEW] NCIC Annual Members Meeting
Monday 29th September, Carlisle/online. Members of the public are invited to join North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust’s (NCIC) Annual Members’ Meeting (AMM).
It’s an opportunity for members to learn more about our achievements and challenges over the last 12 months and the current financial position, which you can find out more about in our annual report 2024/25 now on our website.
Those attending will also find out more about our most recent developments and hear about some of our plans for the future outlined in our clinical strategy. There will also be an opportunity to have your say on our future plans as we ask members to get involved in some of the changes we need to make to improve healthcare in north Cumbria.
How to master email marketing
30th September, online. This course aims, in just three hours, to boost your email marketing.
The course provides a hands-on approach, showing charities the basics of email marketing, the best platforms, strategies for effective list-building, the importance of segmentation, tips and tricks for crafting effective emails, the best way to write a subject line, the virtues of personalisation, and so much more.
The Power of Storytelling to Support Your Goals
Tues 30th September, online. It’s a really good idea to tell your stakeholders about your charity, both to promote your cause and to evidence that you are delivering its goals. The best way of doing this is to tell ‘stories’ about your organisation’s activities, which illustrate their impact and benefits.
This session summarises the first steps on your storytelling journey, offering a brief introduction on how to make the most of your stories.
Cyber Essentials Training: Mastering the Five Key Controls for Digital Security
7th October, online. This three-hour workshop offers an accessible introduction to Cyber Essentials, a government-backed framework designed to help organisations protect themselves from the most common cyber threats.
Over two engaging sessions, we’ll break down the scheme’s five critical controls and run a live hack, including reconnaissance and initial access, where you will play a lead role in the operation. By the end of the training, you’ll be equipped with actionable strategies to strengthen your organisation’s digital defences.
Get Grants free Virtual Conference 2025
7th-8th October, online. The Conference will provide two days of expert fundraising advice, top tips, Q&As, networking, peer-support, and lots of chat, bringing together thousands of Fundraisers from across the UK for a programme led by Get Grants Experts, funders, and other experts from across the sector.
Strategic Plans
Tues 14th October, online. Strategic plans are one of the key documents as an organisation starts to grow, especially in the current climate where organisations have to search wider for funding.
A good strategic plan helps keep an organisation grounded in its work and should help prevent mission drift.
Association of Volunteer Managers conference
15th and 16th October, online. Tickets for the Association of Volunteer Managers (AVM) annual conference.
The role of volunteer managers is ever evolving, and this year’s conference will provide delegates with the opportunity to delve into key aspects of our profession, providing the opportunity to gain insights from leading voices and learn about best practices alongside peers from across the sector.
Find out more and get your ticket here
New Social Media Platforms
20th October, online. In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, new social media platforms are emerging as tools for the not-for-profit sector.
Find out which platforms are being used the most and the benefits and drawbacks of each.
[NEW] Data Protection Training for Charities
21st October, online. It is important for every charity leader to ensure their organisation is fully compliant with the latest data protection regulations.
This half-day course will guide you through the key points to consider and what measures you should have in place. You will also learn how to avoid some common data protection pitfalls.
[NEW] Making the most of M365 apps – tips and tricks
22nd October, online. This three-hour session shows you how to master 365 apps.
The first section will cover an overview of the apps available. It will explore web vs desktop applications, the joys of Copilot, the best way to use Microsoft Forms, and the secrets of Sway.
The second section is dedicated to Teams, exploring meeting and channel management, file storage, whiteboards and polls, and so much more.
[NEW] Risk Management for Trustees
24th October, online. In an era of increasing concern regarding liabilities, litigation, regulatory compliance and reputational risk, charities are coming under greater scrutiny than ever. Boardroom competency in identifying, managing and mitigating risk is now a required skill and trustees must be able to scrutinise their executive and professional advisors’ management of risk, as well as being able to apply the same tools and techniques to their own decision making.
This course is a non-technical introduction to risk and risk management designed to enable trustees to understand and manage risk generally, but with a focus on risks related to governance, employment, assets, service users and third parties.
By the end of the day, you will be better equipped to interact effectively with professional advisors and regulators, hold your executive to account, improve your own decision making and govern your organisation’s risk management activities.
Festival of Trusteeship
3rd – 7th November 2025, online. The Festival of Trusteeship is a week of inspiring discussions, practical tools and bold ideas to reimagine trusteeship. Led by Eastside People, this event is part of the Festival of Trusteeship during Trustees’ Week 2025, proudly supported by the Institute of Leadership.
With online events on topics including engaging younger people in trusteeship, how to build confidence as a trustee, and how to deal with times of crisis, this is a collection of events to inspire and inform your trustees.
Festival passes are available now, and lots of the events are free. Find out more here, and please share with your board and your local networks.
[NEW] Advanced Excel – tips and tricks
4th November, online. Join this 3 hour session to find out how to optimise your spreadsheets so they can do what they’re meant to be doing – saving you time, facilitating effective service delivery and enabling you and your team to get insight into the bigger picture.
This hands-on workshop will guide you through demos and practical exercises using a sample spreadsheet. Key features covered include:
- Smarter formulas that save you time
- Conditional formatting, data validation, and other techniques to keep your data tidy
- Using Pivot Tables to summarise and rearrange data
- Connect, clean & organise data from different sources using Power Query
[NEW] Understanding Governance Stage 1: The Trustee Role
4th – 5th November, online. If you are new to the role of being a charity trustee, this course will provide the perfect introduction, while experienced trustees will also benefit from a refresher of their responsibilities and comprehensive updates on evolving elements of the trustee role.
Digital Fundraising Summit 2025
Thursday 6th November 2025, online. For the seventh year in a row, Charity Digital are bringing back their incredibly popular online FREE Digital Fundraising Summit.
The summit will be particularly beneficial if you have a fundraising, marketing, communications, or a digital innovation role, but that said there will be plenty for everyone! Sessions will be tailored for all charity sizes.
You can find out more information here
[NEW] Understanding Governance Stage 2: Governance in Practice
11th-12th November, online. Designed for experienced trustees, secure in their knowledge of the governance processes and what being a trustee entails, ‘Governance in Practice’ builds on the expertise gained from our stage 1 course ‘Understanding Governance: The Trustee Role,’ focusing on practical solutions to the challenges you face.
This course covers a wide range of governance issues and aims to help you improve the overall effectiveness of your board.
[NEW] When Social Media Goes Wrong
Monday 17th November, online. What should you do if you are subjected to trolling online? When social media goes wrong, it can have serious consequences for your organisation and individuals.
In such situations, it is important to act swiftly and thoughtfully to address the issue and mitigate any potential damage. This session will cover damage limitation strategies.
[NEW] The Art of Being an Effective Chair
18-19th November, online. The role of the chair of the board or a committee is more demanding and can be more complex than most people realise.
This course will help you to chair well and to ensure that board governs effectively and that board committees add value to the governance process. Scenarios and case studies help develop skills in practical ways.
[NEW] Finance for Trustees
20th November, online. How confident are you that you really understand your charity’s finances? It’s a complicated business, what with managing different types of funds and income, the accounting and reporting rules, as well as dealing with tax and VAT.
This course, lead by the team from leading accountancy firm BDO, will give you the tools to get to grips with how all that works in your own organisation, and includes time to chat with fellow trustees over the practicalities and challenges you face.
[NEW] Managing Volunteers – The Nuts and Bolts
Tuesday 2nd December, online. Volunteers are a hugely important supplementary resource for charities. However, they must be supported and protected, and their contribution recognised.
This session summarises briefly the key elements and headline information your organisation must have in place to achieve this.
VCFSE News and Information
[NEW] Awareness days you should know about in 2026
Charity Digital have compiled an extensive calendar of the most important awareness days to help you plan your causes, content, and campaigns throughout 2026.
[NEW] Cumberland Council newsletter
You can read Cumberland Council’s newsletter from 15/08/25 here, including:
- Have your say on the Whitehaven masterplan
- Supporting communities in Cleator Moor
- Wellbeing Festival success
[NEW] Westmorland and Furness Council Newsletter
You can read Westmorland and Furness Council’s newsletter from 15/08/25 here, including:
- “Great asset for the community” celebrates 10 years
- Next stage in The Coro’s development about to launch
- Places available now on Westmorland and Furness’s Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme
[NEW] Worrying about money leaflet
This leaflet contains information on what support is available in Cumberland, with three steps to find options and places to get help.
[NEW] How to embrace mobile recruitment
With more people using smartphones in the UK, Charity Digital look at how to introduce a mobile strategy into your charity’s recruitment process.
[NEW] Why digital leadership matters for every charity
Digital is no longer just a support function it’s a strategic driver of change. Principle 1 of the Charity Digital Code highlights the critical role of leadership in ensuring charities remain relevant, resilient, and responsive in a digital-first world.
Charity leaders and trustees must take ownership of how digital and increasingly, AI can help achieve their organisation’s purpose. This means embedding digital into strategy and governance, understanding how technology is reshaping society, and adapting to meet the evolving needs of beneficiaries and stakeholders.
To support this, the Code outlines five key actions:
- Make digital and AI part of regular leadership discussions
- Build confidence in data-driven decision-making
- Present a clear case for digital investment
- Procure scalable, integrated tech
- Apply AI tools to specific use cases
Reasons to be optimistic as a charity in a changing world
In the latest Third Sector Podcast, Lucinda Rouse and Emily Harle are joined by Nicole Sykes, director of policy, communications and research at the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales.
In this episode, they discuss some recent research by Lloyds Banking Group that found charities are the second-most trusted source of financial advice after family members. They also consider how charities can best respond to the finding and why it should be a cause for celebration, and cover a range of other topical issues affecting the sector, from the emergence of the impact economy to the need for charities to adapt to new ways of finding information with the advent of AI.
Public misconceptions: Why we must do more to showcase the impact of charities
Charities do some excellent work. We plug the gaps in public services, protect the environment and our heritage, campaign against injustice and often give a voice to those who need support. But are the public aware of the work that charities do and what we can achieve, or the challenges faced by charities and the third sector?
In this article for DSC, Tania Mason argues for greater visibility and communication of the sector’s achievements, calling on charities, regulators, and the media to do more to showcase their impact and correct damaging misconceptions.
Surveys, Research, Feedback and Reports
Charities asked for views on government’s plans to increase public spending with sector
Charities have been asked to share their views on the government’s plans to increase public sector procurement spending with the sector.
Earlier this year, the Cabinet Office published a procurement policy statement for central government departments, requiring them to “maximise procurement spend” with voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations.
It has since opened a consultation, which runs until 5 September and proposes amending the Procurement Act 2023 to mandate other large public bodies to set direct VCSE spending targets.
Disclaimer
The information above is provided in good faith. Whilst every care is taken to ensure that it is correct, Cumbria CVS cannot accept liability for any omissions or inaccuracies and does not take responsibility for the quality for any services or products mentioned.
